Intaglio printing machine



Nov. 2, 1943. w. F. GRUPE INTAGLIO PRINTING MACHINE 2 Sheets- Sheet 1 Filed May '7, 1938 ATTORNEY 1943- w. F; GRUPE 2,333,172

INTAGLIO PRINTING MACHINE Filed May 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 U Ji III

ATTORNEY Patented Nov. 2, 1943 .umreo STATES PATENT OFFICE INTAGLIO PRINTING MACHINE William F. Grupe, Lyndhurst, N. J., assignor, by

mesne assignments, to Intel-chemical Corporation, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Ohio Application May 7, 1938, Serial No. 206,556

Claims.

This invention relates to the art of printing and aims to provide an improved printing or marking press of the intaglio type in which a web may be imprinted on both sides simultaneously with a quick drying marking material.

In conventional gravure or intaglio printing, the marking cylinder or engraving usually has its lower portion running in a bath or fountain of ink. Excess ink is removed by means of a doctor blade bearing against the cylinder, and the web of paper or other material to be marked is brought into contact with the engraving by means of a resilient impression cylinder. If both sides of the web are to be printed, it is necessary to provide a sufllcient length of web between impressions to permit the first applied impressions to dry. Then the web may be fed through a sec and printing unit where the unprinted side will be brought into contact with a second marking cylinder. With such an arrangement and procedure, difiiculties are always encountered in adjusting the web lengths so that the later applied impressions will be in register with those first applied. When ordinary inks are used, a considerable length of web must be left between units to permit drying and this renders the problem of register even more diiiicult.

Furthermore, when relatively heavy stock, such as is used in the manufacture of various types of cartons and containers, is to be imprinted, it is impractical to thread the web through any usual course to provide the desired web length necessary for drying. In fact, it is advantageous to feed webs of such stock through the press in a horizontal position so as to avoid bending or otherwise damaging the stock. Such feeding of the web requires that the marking and impression cylinders be arranged vertically or one above the other.

Due to usual ink cells or depressions-in intaglio printing cylinders and the manner in which such cylinders must be inked, it has been thought impossible heretofore to provide for simultaneous intaglio printing on both sides of a horizontally fed web, particularly when volatile or quick-drying marking material is employed. I have discovered, however, that effective printing pressure can be obtained with opposed intaglio cylinders, and that both cylinders can be properly inked with quick-drying materials, so that simultaneous intaglio printing may be effected on both sides of a web.

In accordance with my invention, both sides of a horizontally fed single web, or the exposed surfaces of a plurality of superimposed webs, may be simultaneously printed, by passing them between opposed vertically arranged engraved or marking cylinders, where each marking cylinder acts as the impression cylinder for the other, and the construction is so simple mechanically that the.

entire printing mechanism may be completely enclosed in a substantially gas-tight housing. The lower marking cylinder may be inked and doctored in any customary manner; while a combined doctor blade and ink fountain, having improved means for maintaining the desired and necessary contact with the engraving, is provided for inking the upper cylinder. My invention also includes suitable means for supplying the ink or'marking material .for both cylinders, and maintaining it at the desired level; a housing for enclosing the entire printing mechanisms so that volatile or other quick drying marking material may be utilized; and means for adjusting the pressure between the cylinders and for separating said cylinders one from another in such a manner that the web will 'not contact either of them when the press is not in operation. Other features and advantages will appear as the following description proceeds.

A specific embodiment of apparatus for carrying out my invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a vertical sectional view through an intaglio printing press in which impressions may be applied simultaneously on the top and bottom of a horizontally fed-web, the view being taken substantially along the line I| of Fig. 3;

Fig. 2 is a plan view, with certain portions broken away, of a part of the aparatus shown in Fig. 1, and illustrating certain details of the upper fountain construction;

Fig. 3. is a vertical sectional view of the apparatus, taken substantially along the line 33 of Fig. 1, and with the support for the upper fountain omitted; and I Fig. 4 is a fragmentary plan view of a modification of the upper fountain construction.

The present invention has been shown embodied in a press which may be used for applying a quick drying adhesive marking material to predetermined areas of both sides of a web of carton stock. It is to be understood, however, that the invention is not restricted in its use to such a press, or such marking material, but the.

principal features thereof may be included in printing presses generally, and particularly intaglio printing presses.

As shown in the drawings, a web I0 is fed in a substantially horizontal position to receive markings on the top and bottom thereof in an intaglio marking unit I2. I have shown a plurality of webs llLwhich will have the exposed surfaces thereof marked in the'unit l2, and these are fed from any previous marking or treating unit or directly from a conveniently located source of supply. The marking unit l2 comprises side frame members l4 spaced at a suitable distance one from another by means of a lower housing member l6 which may be provided with flanges I8 and secured to the side frame members M in any convenient manner. If desired, the housing may be closed by means of front and rear cover members 26 and 22, respectively, which are hinged at 24 wand 26 to the side frames M, so that they may be raised, as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1, to gain access to theinside of the housing. When the housing is closed in this manner, the lower portions of the covers are cut away to provide front and rear horizontally disposed slots 28 and 30, respectively, through which the web l may be fed.

This construction provides a substantially completely closed and gas tight housing, since the slots 28 and 36 are practically closed by the web. Such a housing is particularly useful when marking material containing volatile solvents is used in the press, for it becomes quickly saturated with solvent vapors so that further evaporation and loss of solvents is reduced to a minimum. Moreover, the housing may be made large enough to enclose the marking cylinders completely, thus eliminating all complicated inking mechanism and preventing evaporation from the entire surface of each cylinder.

Each sine frame M is provided with a substantially centrally located rectangular opening 32 adjustably mounted in the openings in a manner to be explained more fully hereinafter. Journalled in the upper bearing member M is a shaft 38 of an upper engraved or intaglio marking cylinder 40; and journalled in the lower bearing member 36 is a shaft 42 of a lower engraved or intaglio marking cylinder 34. If desired, either or both of these cylinders may be heated or cooled in any conventional manner, depending upon the type of marking material and web used and the efiect' to be obtained. In Fig. 3, the left hand end of the shaft 42 is shown broken off, but it may be extended to suitable gearing and motor (not shown) to receive rotative movement at the desired speed. Such rotative movement is transmitted to the upper intaglio cylinder by means of a gear 46 keyed to the shaft 42 and meshing with a gear 48 keyed to the shaft 38 so that both of the intaglio cylinders will be rotated at the same speed. As mentioned above, upper intaglio cylinder 40 acts as an impression cylinder for the lower cylinder 44, while, at the same time, the lower intaglio cylinder M acts as an impression for the cylinder ill; and it is between these two cylinders that the web It is passed to receive markings simultaneously on the upper and lower sidesthereof.

Marking material such as ink, adhesive, wax or the like, may be applied in liquid form to the lower intaglio cylinder in any convenient manner. I have shown the lower housing l6 provided with side walls 50 spaced from the frame members It and having cut out portions 52 therein to accommodate the shaft 42. These side walls, together with the lower portion of the member l5 form a receptacle in which a bath it of the marking material may be contained and, if necessary, heated or cooled in any suitable manner. The housing it may be provided, in the lower portion thereof, with an inlet section or chamber 56, into which a supply pipe 58 may open, and from which a drain pipe 60 may a lead.- These pipes may form part of an ink circulating system for both the lower and upper fountains, as will hereinafter appear. A screen 62, or other suitable straining device, may separate the inlet chamber from the rest of the receptacle, and thusprevent foreign matter from coming in contact with the engraving.

The marking material is constantly maintained at a sufficiently high level so that the intaglio cylinder Ml will rotate in it and the cells thereof be properly filled. Excess marking material is wiped from the engraving by means of a laminated doctor blade 64 removably mounted by set screws 66 in a doctor blade holder 68 which is rotatably mounted in side frames M.

Crank arms 70. may be connected to the doctor blade holder 68 at each side thereof and outside of the frame members it; and weights 1? a may be suspended from these arms to produce In order to supply marking material to the upper intaglio cylinder, I have provided a com bined doctor blade and fountain N, which will now be described. As shown in Figs. 1 and-2, this comprises a main supporting member or fountain base it which includes an angulariy disposed table 18 and integral supporting brackets 80, by means of which the base may be 3e-.

cured in any convenient manner to the side frames M. I The table 18 is substantially the same length as the upper cylinder fill and at the upper edge thereof is provided with a raised portion 82 to which is secured a resilient doctor blade 84 by means of a clamping vbar 8t and screws 88. Doctor blade $6 extendsidownwardly substantially parallel to the surface of the table 18 and into contact with the surface of the intaglio cylinder 49. A plurality of adjustin screws 90 are threaded through the lower portion of the table 118 and emerge in closely spaced tapered openings 92 beneath the doctor blade 84.

against the lower side of the doctor blade and urge it into contact with the intaglio cylinder with the desired pressure. Due to the close spacing of these adjusting screws, the contact of the doctor blade with the intaglio cylinder is .maintained uniform throughout the length of the cylinder form a trough shaped fountain.

Marking material may be supplied to the fountain through a supply pipe 102 which passes through the side frame It and extends inwardly to a suitable point above the fountain. The end of this pipe outside the housing may be connected These adjusting screws are provided with tapered ends 94 which are adapted to bear to a suitable source of supply and the material pumped into the fountain in the desired quantitles. If it is desired to use the same type of marking material in both fountains, the pipe I02 may be connected to a pump Obtaining terial from the lower fountain or the source of supply therefor. Then an overflow pipe I04, connected to one of the end retainer plates 68 and extending downwardly so as to empty into the bath 54, may be provided for maintaining I the marking material at the desired constantlevel, and returning any-excess material to the lowerfountain. By having the two fountains interconnected in this manner and circulating the marking material between them, the consistency of the marking material in both fountains will be maintained uniform. In case of any leakage of marking material from the trough shaped fountain, a drip pan I06 may 'be provided to prevent the marking material from dropping upon the incoming web I0. As shown, the pipe I04 is connected with a pipe I08 which passes through the drip pan and is fastened thereto.

Should it be desired to reciprocate the upper doctor .blade, the construction thereof may be modified as indicated in Fig. 4. Instead of having end plates 98 which engage with the ends vof the cylinder, the entire supporting frame or fountain base may be shortened and provided with end walls or plates 99 which are shaped to fit the cylinder surface and provided with suitable packings or pads IOI which bear against the surface and prevent the marking material from flowing through. The entire fountain and doctor blade may then be freely supported .upon a track I03 by means of standards I05 having rollers I01 engaging with the track. Track I03 is secured to the'side frames I4 and the doctor blade and fountain may be moved back and forth therealong in any suitable manner, such as by connecting the mechanism with the lower reciprocating doctor blade 64.

' In order to produce suflicient pressure between the cylinders 40 and 44 to effect a proper transfer of marking material to the web I0, the bearing members 34 and 36 are slidably mounted in the side frames I4, as mentioned above, and provided with suitable adjusting means. Moreover,

. when the marking material comprises an adhesive substance, it is particularly desirable to permit the cylinders to be separated one from another so that the web may be easily threaded through the press, and also may be arranged so that it will not contact the cylinders during any period whenthe press is not in operation. In Figs. 3 and 4 it will be noted that the opening 32 is provided with a peripheral reinforcing wall IIO, the inside edge of which forms a suitable bearing surface II2 for flanges II4 provided on the upper bearing members 34, and flanges II 6 provided on the lower bearing mem bers 36. Lower bearing member 36 is also provided with a flange I I8 on the upper edge thereof which engages with a suitable shoulder I20 pro- .vided on the bearing member 34. The construction of these flanges, the size of the bearing members 34 and 36 and their manner of mounting in the opening 32 is such that the upper member 34 may be moved upwardly and the lower member 36 moved downwardly in a sliding fashion within the opening 32.

In order to effect such movement of the bearing members, the lower bearing member 36 is connected, by means. of a link I22 outside of the frame member I4, to an eccentric I24. similarly the upper bearing member 34-is connected by means of a link I26 to an eccentric I28. Both of the eccentrics form part of a shaft I30 which is journalled .beneath the lower housing I6 in suitable bearings provided in the side frame members I4. Rotation of the shaft I30 will then, through the eccentrics and links, move the upper bearing members upwardly and the lower bearing members downwardly any desired distance, suflicient to space the intaglio cylinders one from another so that they will not contact the web I0.

Each eccentric I28 includes as a part thereof a collar member I32 having an upwardly extending arm I34. A pin I36 is fixed to the end of each arm and projects into an opening I38 provided in the link I26. Adjusting screws I40 are threaded into the link at each side of the opening I 38 and extend into said opening I38 and into contact with the pin I40. All of the parts may be held on the shaft by means of retaining collars I42. Thus, by turning the adjusting screws I40, the eccentric shaft I30 will be partially' rotated so that the intaglio cylinders 40 and 44 may be moved through small distances for producing the desired pressure upon the web I0. It is through this means that the necessary minute adjustments of pressure between intaglio cylinders may be effected for obtaining simultaneous printing of good quality with two such cylinders, and without the usual resilient impression cylinders.

It will be understood that, if desired, the above described separation of the intaglio cylinders changes may be made in the construction and certain features thereof may be employed without others, without departing from my invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What I claim is:

1. In an intaglio printing press for simultaneously printing upon both sides of a web, the combination of opposed intaglio marking cylinders between which the web may be fed; means for applyin marking materi'alto both of said cylinders; and means for simultaneously separating said cylinders and moving them in opposite directions one from another.

1 2. In an intaglio printing press for simultaneously printing upon both sides of a web, the combination of spaced side frames; opposed intaglio marking cylinders between which the web may be fed; bearing means for the shafts of said cylinders slidably mounted inand having sealing engagement with said spaced side frames; and meansfor simultaneously moving said bearing means relatively to one another so as to separate said cylinders.

3. In an intaglio printing press for simultaneously printing upon both sides of a web, the combination of spaced side frames; opposed intaglio marking cylinders between which the web may be fed; bearing means for the shafts of said cylinders slidably mounted in and having sealing engagement with said spaced side frames; means for applying marking material to both of said cylinders; housing means mounted in sealing engagement with said spaced side frames and adapted to enclose said cylinders and said marking material applying means; and means for simultaneously moving said bearing means relatively to one another so as to separate said cylinders.

4. In an intaglio printing press for simultaneously printing upon both sides of a web, the combination of a first intaglio marking cylinder; a second intaglio marking cylinder disposed beneath said first cylinder in cooperative relation therewith and having a marking material receptacle arranged on the under side thereof; a combined doctor blade and marking material fountain in operative engagement with said first cylinder; means for supplying marking material in excess quantities and to said marking material fountain; and means for maintaining the marking, material at a constant level in said marking material fountain, such maintaining means being arranged so that the excess marking material will flow into the receptacle for said second cylinder.

5. In an intaglio printing press for simultaneously printing upon both sides of a web, the combination of upper and lower intaglio marking cylinders between which the web may be fed; means for applying marking material to said lower cylinder; means for wiping excess marking material from the suriace of said lower cylinder; and an ink fountain for said upper cylinder comprising a support, a resilient blade secured to said support and extending into wriping contact with the surface of said cylinder, means for adjusting the pressure of contact of said blade against said cylinder at any desired point substantially throughout the length of said blade, and retainer plates disposed at the ends of said blade and having a sung fit with said blade and the surface of said cylinder'near the ends thereof so that said ink fountain may be reciprocated on the surface of said cylinder.

WILLIAM F. GRUPE. 

